Archive for the ‘movie work’ Category

I know I don’t blog “enough” in here: generally I blog at my MySpace blog, but I figured as This 2010 February has been one of the best months ever, I should make a mention…
On the one hand, I booked some background work on a European commercial which shot on a Saturday and a Sunday, paying twice SAG scale, and for which we also got four plus hours overtime…
A payroll company began practicing the criminal act of conversion (taking money owed to a worker and giving it to a third party without benefit of law, under colour of authority, et al, and claiming it would continue to steal money from me to the tune of over thirty three hundred dollars), and did not pay me for a wardrobe fitting. After receiving from me an explanatory letter (in which I also politely directed them to provide the court order requring them to do so, absent which they become criminally lible, not those demanding money from them that is owed to me). As no such court order exists, the payroll company realized they were in violation of law, and for the actual acting day worked I received that day’s payment, and the false amount was no longer on the check’s “pay stub.” I have chosen to “eat” the about-thirty bucks for the wardrobe fitting, in thanks that the payroll company at least ceased stealing from me and began complying with positive law.
My national 2009 Pedigree Super Bowl spot was voted the third best Super Bowl commercial of the decade…
Along with the upcoming payments for the European commercial and the 2010 airing of the Crazy Pets spot usage during the CBS show, I will be able to acquire new glasses with an updated prescription, new headshots, both with which to endevour acquiring a TV/Theatrical agent…

I have to confess that while originally my plan was to mirror here my MySpace blogs, I’ve been extremely lax doing so (hence, you really should keep up at my MySpace blog/s, and/or subscribe thereto).
Mostly due to airings and such, I have made updates to my various on-set report pages, including but not limited to the Pedigree Super Bowl spot progress and airing/s,
the repeat of my fourth My Name is Earl gig episode, the CSI episode, the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland feature, the episode of The Office, and the long slow wait and positing whether the final episodes of Eli Stone even air, meaning my episode Tailspin may only be viewable if the second season is released on DVD.
On MySpace I came across a Chayanne fan who ironically wasn’t previously aware I had worked on his music video Yo Teamo: I ended up updating that report as the YouTube video of the spot had been removed and I had to re-find it to embed it on the report page.

Last November I worked a day on a film called Lower Learning as Featured Background. As my on-set report reflects, based on results, I really should have been upgraded to Day Player for the scene. Not only was I part of a two-shot close-up with a principal, interacting with him but physically interacting with him (“albeit” a hand-shake), the director directed my personally (in actuality a director can only direct principals and other contract role players: featured and general background are directed by Assistant Directors: if the director wants something changed he tells the AD who tells the backgrounder).
But I figured, hey, it’s a tight shot of me with the pleasant and very funny Nat Faxon, so I patiently waited for the film to be released.
There is a concept of Life I’ve deduced, called Badger Luck. Those who are friends and/or good to me, tend to do Really Really Well. Those who do wrong by me or do wrong by my friends… tend to get karmic backlash. Years ago when I was booked to work five days on one film and at the very very end of the first day, about 90% of us were told we weren’t to return, that feature film Went Nowhere, never even got released (and it starred Kim Basinger Forest Whitaker, Tim Roth, Danny DeVito, Ray Liotta, et al). Never got released. Hmm.
Now with Lower Learning, (as of this blog entry’s date and time), its imdb entry still shows no release date. Ironically, at the bottom of its poster it does show October 10, 2008: I’d come across a small poster for it hastily affixed to a few local light poles, that it was only opening at the Laemmle Sunset 5. A producer friend of mine surmised this meant they could only just “four-wall it.” They couldn’t get a wider release.
I went and saw it this past Saturday morning and… well… apart from the fact my scene is omitted completely (being a flashback, not much of a real loss to the storyline: just “explaining” a minor backstory point that technically didn’t need explaining), based on the rest of the film… the flashback might have been considered the funniest scene of the film. The “comedy” is about a loser elementary school with a corrupt principal, in which pretty much all of the faculty have lost all will to teach, to inspire, or in some cases even to live. It’s almost surprising no character commits suicide in this feature, though one does come an instant away from actually doing so.
I think I actually laughed once, and there were two to three actual moments (not sequences), which had me chuckle. Beyond that the film seemed to strive towards depressing the audience as much as were its characters.
btw, apart from myself in the auditorium, there were five or six others who attended the same matinee, and they actually managed to sit through the entire film as well: I did not ask them if they’d worked on it in some capacity.
Now would the film have been a success (or at least watchable), had my scene been included, and/or even more so had they honourably upgraded me to Day Player contract? We’ll never really know. One can only go by what happened to/with the film after I wasn’t upgraded and after the scene on which I worked was cut. As always, results don’t lie.
(Ironically, I still added the title to my NetFlix queue, on the off chance its DVD contains Deleted Scene/s as Bonus Material…)

Well the LA United Film Festival screening of Strictly Background tonight was very well received.All ten of us, along with Jeff Olan, were there. (The other night at the film festival’s kick-off party,Cary had indicated seeing me in something recently but couldn’t recall what it was; tonight he said he’d remembered, it was on PBS and I realized he meant Red Ace Cola Project, as he regularly watches the Fine Cuts program on KCET, and he’d spotted me as Eddie therein.)
As always, Strictly Background elicited laughs with its humour and irony, worried gasps with its pathos, and cheers with its triumphs. The Q&A was interesting; I jokingly took a couple of photos of the audience [bg]; mostly as I had no one available to take a photo with my camera of us on stage. At one point with the mic, I was able to relate my working on and visibility in Walk Hard (and that Jason had spotted me when he first saw it, unaware I’d worked on it), Lower Learning and the very upcoming Big Stan, as well as announcing the most recent work, as the principal lead in the regional wild spot McDonalds commercial.
There were some interesting comments amongst the questions. One was that it be mandatory viewing for all new SAG members. Another suggested it be shown at all high schools (I would presume that would be to let young still-dreamer types know it’s as even much more hard work than it is simply being attractive).
Many very nice people thanked and congratulated me (as well as the rest of the cast), one of whom turned out to be the lovely Jocelyn, who’d only sent me a MySpace add request quite recently.
Jeff Olan had set up some sort of after-party at Busby’s. I had a ride with Jack [“John“] and his wonderful wife Elizabeth, and initially we figured we’d stop in briefly. On our way to the nearby event, the directions and details indicated there was a ten dollar cover charge just to get in after 10pm, and it was 9:55pm when we left the theatre. As it was there was no available street parking, so nothing other that expensive valet parking. As much as we wanted to attend, the combined expense and impracticality was too much of an issue. I didn’t have much of a chance to talk with Jeff Olan and/or meet some of those he brought (the only one I recognized right off was actor Jon Polito). As we went around the corner from being unable to find a place to park, we could see at the door people having to pay to get in, which pretty much clinched it for us.
D’oh.
Jack and Elizabeth got me home safely about a quarter after ten.

After registering a new casting place specializing in booking commercial background (far better paying than a day doing a regular SAG feature or TV), in the later afternoon I went down to see Red Ace Cola Project, screening with other USC films. I worked three days on the project’s five day shoot… 39 months ago…
The short was very funny, and I received my DVD copy of it.Red Ace Cola Project will air as part of the Fine Cuts program on KCET, Saturday, April 12th, from 10 to 11pm.
The short will also screen (presumably with other short films), at the Crest Theatre at 1262 Westwood Blvd [90024] on Thursday, May 1st at 7:30pm.
(I’m told there will be a “lavish” reception following the Crest screening.)

Monday I worked my first SAG gig of 2008… and the first since late November 2007.
Titled Seven Pounds, it’s a Will Smith feature film, currently scheduled for a December 12, 2008 release.
I am working at transferring content from my geocities pages and my earthlink pages (on-set reports, which of late have been written up as MySpace blog entries at my MySpace profile).
The current report on this gig is at this page here.